Shoe and heel therefor



April 19414 G. HAZELTON 2,239,818

SHOE AND HEEL THEREFOR Filed Dec. 13, 1939 Patented Apr. 29, 1941 SHOE AND HEEL THEREFOR George Hazelton, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 13, 1939, Serial No. 309,062

I In Great Britain January 12, 1939 11 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shoes and particularly to the heels thereof.

In the manufacture of shoes of the general type illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, of United States Letters Patent No. 2,027,431, granted January 14, 1936, on an application filed in the name of George I-Iazelton et a1. it has been found that if the lateral margins of the rear-end portion of the attached outsole of the shoe are beveled to a considerable degree, the end portions of the walls of the approximately uniformly wide groove, which is formed in the breast of the heel and the entire end portions of which terminate at the sides respectively of the heel, cannot be forced snugly against the margins of the rear-end portion of the sole during the heel attaching operation. Consequently, when this condition exists, open gaps which are undesirable appear in the finished shoe between the ends of the groove formed in the breast of the heel and the lateral margins of the rear-end portion of the sole arranged in the groove.

In order to insure against the formation of open gaps such as above described, the present heel, in accordance with a feature of this invention, has in the upper portion of its breast a sole receiving groove walls of which extend approximately to said breast, the ends of said groove terminating partly at the attaching face of the heel and partly at the sides of the heel.

The groove formed in the breast of the illustrative heel is defined by upper and lower cylindrical surfaces which are disposed angularly to each other and approach the attaching face of the heel as they extend in opposite directions from the median portion of the heel, the rear halves of the ends of the upper surface and the entire ends of the lower surface terminating at the sides respectively of the heel, and the forward halves of the ends of said upper surface terminating at the attaching face of the heel.

In the finished shoe the forward lateral margins of the rear-end portion of the attached sole (that is, the portion of the sole extending rearward of the heel breast line of the sole) are compressed between the overlasted counter portion of the shoe upper and the forward lateral margins of said lower surface formed in the breast of the heel, the remainder of the rear-end portion of the sole being compressed between the opposite walls of the groove.

'When the finished shoe is viewed from the sides, the ends of the upper surface forming the upper wall of the groove appear shorter than the adjacent ends of the lower surface forming the lower wall of the groove, and overlie the rear halves only of the ends of the lower surface. Accordingly, at each side of the heel the separation between the lower surface and the forward end of the upper surface is about one-half of what it would be were the entire ends of the upper surface to terminate at the sides of the heel, as in the case of the heel illustrated in Fig. 1 of the above-mentioned United States Letters Patent No. 2,027,431, assuming, of course, that the angle between the walls of the groove is the same in both heels. 1

When the rear-end portion of the sole is inserted inthe groove of the illustrative heel, it fills the median portion of the groove and also the portion of the groove exposedat the sides of the heel even though the margin of the rear-end portion of the sole is considerably thinner than the median portion thereof, thereby eliminating the possibility of the above-mentioned unsightly gaps being formed between the lateral margins of the rear-end portion of the sole and the ends of the groove in the heel.

With the above and other features in view, the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing- Fig. l is a perspective view showing an attached outsole of a shoe in the process of having its heel end trimmed for ,the reception of a heel by a machine of the general type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,204,676, granted June 18, 1940, on an application filed in my name;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows in perspective the heel end of the shoe of Fig. 1 after the sole has been trimmed by said machine;

Fig. 4: shows the shoe of Fig. 3 with the rearend portion of its sole lifted away from the bottom of the shoe upper to illustrate the shape of the flesh or inner side of the trimmed rear-end portion of the sole;

Fig. 5 is a front view, partly broken away, of

an illustrative heel to be attached to the shoe of ence to its attachment to a shoe 22 the sole 24 of which has been trimmed by the above-mentioned machine of the general type disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 220M376.

The sole 24 prior to its attachment to the shoe 22 has had the iateral margins reduced in thickness by beveling cuts 26 (Figs. 2 and 4). In accordance with common practice, the marginal reduction of the sole 24 is effected by skiving material from the flesh or inner side 28 of the sole, in the case of compo work, or from the base of the channel (not shown), if the sole is channeled to receive stitches for securing it to the 7 shoe bottom.

The machine illustrated in said Letters Patent No. 2,204,676 comprises a cutting bed 30 (Figs. 1 and 2) for supporting the heel end of the attached sole 24 of the shoe22 mounted upon a plate (not shown), and a knife 32 (Fig. 1), which, after being initially swung as a unit about an axis 34 to cause its cutting edge 35 to engage the outer or grain side 33 of the sole, is moved in a rectilinear path past a shoulder 43 of the cutting bed 38, the upper edge 52 of which shoulder is coincident with said axis 34, to trim the sole by a. beveling cut 44 (Figs. 3 and 4) starting at the grain side 38 of the sole and terminating at the flesh side 28 of the sole. By swinging the cutting edge 36 of the knife 32 into engagement with the sole as above described before starting the beveling cut 44, the length of bevel formed by the knife is always the same irrespective of the thickness of the sole.

The machine disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 2,204,676 is especially adapted to operate upon a shoe the heel-end portion of the attached sole of which is of substantially uniform thickness. In order to insure that the beveling cut 44 shall start along a straight line or edge 46 extending transversely from one lateral edge of the grain side of the marginally reduced sole 24 to the other, the cutting bed 34) of the illustrative machine comprises a pair of packing blocks 58, each of which has a beveled surface 5:: for supporting one of the beveled margins of the sole, and a longitudinal beveled surface 52 constructed and arranged to provide sufiicient clearance for the knife to move in its rectilinear path past the straight edge 42 of the shoulder M! without fouling the packing block.

The beveled face 44 formed at the rear end of the sole by the knife 28 intersects the lateral edges of the sole along lines 54 (Figs. 3 and 4) and the beveled margins of thesole along lines 55 which extend forwardly and inwardly of the sole to a line 58 (Fig. 3) indicating the extreme forward end of the beveled face 44 where it intersects the flesh side 28 (Fig. 2) of the uniformly thick median portion of the sole. Suitable gaging mechanism (not shown) is provided for positioning the shoe 22 in the machine with the heel breast line 62 (Fig. 3) of its sole 24 arranged along the upper edge 42 of the shoulder 5E3 of the cutting bed 36.

The portion of the sole extending rearward from the heel breast line 532 may be described as the rear-end portion 62 of the sole and has beveled lateral margins and tapers in thickness as it extends toward the straight edge 45. As above stated. when a heel such as illustrated in l of said Letters Patent No. 2,027,431 is attached to a shoe the attached sole of which has a rear-end portion provided with beveled lateral margins (Figs. 2 and 4), open gaps are likely to appear between the end portions of the groove of the heel of the finished shoe and the lateral margins of the rear-end portion of the sole of the shoe which are arranged in the groove.

The heel 29 to be applied to the shoe 22, the attached sole 24 of which has been trimmed to the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, comprises a series of lifts, the three thin upper lifts being commonly made of ply wood and the three bottom lifts being commonly made of leather. The remaining lifts of the heel are preferably made of leatherboard.

After the heel 2i) has been trimmed and scoured to its final shape, there is formed in the upper end of its breast 63 (Figs. 5 and 7) a transversely extending groove 64 which is of tapering width and is shaped to receive the rear-end portion 62 (Figs. 3 and 4) of the attached sole 24 of the shoe, the end portions of the groove terminating partly at the sides 66 of the heel and partly at the attaching face 68 of the heel. A thin lip 12 (Fig. 5) is thus formed between the groove 54 and the attaching face 58 of the heel.

The attaching face 68 of the heel is concave and has a rim I2 lying in a plane. Ihe groove 64 is curved concavely upwardly, the radius of curvature of the groove being slightly less than the radius of the transverse curvature of the forward end of the attaching face 63 of the heel. The groove 64 may, therefore, be described as approaching the attaching face 68 of the heel as it extends transversely in opposite directions from the median portion of the heel. The groove 64 is defined by upper and lower cylindrical surfaces M, N5 respectively, which constitute upper and lower walls respectively of the groove and are disposed angularly to each other, the elements of a theoretical cylindrical surface which bisects the angle between the surfaces 14 and 15 being approximately parallel to the plane of the rim 72 of the attaching face 68.

The upper breast portions 18 (Fig. 5)- of the heel are chamfered during the grooving operation, the forward portions 80 of the ends of the lower surface 16 being exposed when the heel is viewed from above. The entire ends of the lower surface 16 of the heel terminate at the sides 66 respectively of the heel along lines 82 extending upward and rearward from the breast of the heel. The forward portions or halves of the ends of the upper surface 14 terminate at the attaching face of the heel along lines 84 extending from points 85 at the rim 72 of the attaching face 68 of the heel to points 88 at the forward edge of said attaching face, the rear portions or halves of the ends of the upper surface H of the heel terminating at the sides 66 respectively of the heel along lines 99 extending from the points 86 at the rim '12 of the attaching face to the lines 82.

It will thus be clear that the rear portions or halves of the ends of the groove 64 terminate at the sides respectively of the heel and the forward portions or halves of the ends of the groove terminate at the attaching face of the heel. Accordingly, when the finished shoe is viewed from the side, the rear half only of the groove is visible and, consequently, the maximum width 92 (Fig; 6) of the visible portion of thegroove is only about one-half of what it would be were the lines 92, which indicate the intersection of the surface It with the sides 66 of the heel, to extend to the breast of the heel as in the case of the heel illustrated in Fig. 1 of said Letters Patent No. 2027331. The effect of the groove 64 being more curved than the ,adjacentbr'east margin of the attaching face of the heel is to cause the lip to be of maximum thickness at its middle portion and toqtaper toward its sides, the groove initially; breaking through the attaching face of the heel at the points 88 and terminating at the-attaching face 68 of the heel along the lines 84, which may be described as extending forwardly and toward the median.

portion of the heel to the forward edge of the attaching face of the heel from the points 86 respectively.

In positioning the heel 20 upon the shoe 22 the beveled lateral margins of the rear-end portion 62 of the sole are bent toward the shoe upper slightly so as to insert said portion in the groove 64. The lateral edges 54 of the sole are of about the same length as the lateral edges 90 of the groove with the result that the edge 94 (Fig. '7) of the sole nearest the shoe bottom is approximately continuous with the rim 12 of the attaching face 68 of the heel.

As disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 2,027,431, the rear-end portion 62 of the sole 22 is usually wider than the heel 20 and, therefore, initially projects slightly beyond the sides 66 of the heel, the marginal portions of the rear-end portion of the sole being later trimmed flush with the sides of the heel to produce joints, which, in the finished shoe, are hardly noticeable.

Since the rear-end portion 62 of the sole 24 is forcibly held between the walls 14, 16 of the groove 64 and also between the forward portions 80 of the ends of the surface 16 of the heel and the overlasted counter portion of the shoe, the joint between the heel and sole is strong and reliable, particularly if the heel is attached to the shoe by nails one or more of which extend through the groove and, therefore, through the rear-end portion 62 of the sole, thereby locking the heel and the sole firmly together.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A heel having in the upper portion of its breast a sole receiving groove, walls of which extend approximately to said breast, the ends of said groove terminating partly at the attaching face of the heel and partly at the sides of the heel.

2. A heel having in its breast a groove which is of tapering width and which is positioned adjacent to the attaching face of the heel and has walls extending approximately to said breast, the forward portions of the ends of the groove terminating at the attaching face of the heel and the rear portions of the ends of the groove terminating at the sides respectively of the heel.

3. A heel having in the upper end of its breast a groove which extends transversely of the heel and which has side walls extending forwardly approximately to the breast of the heel and is shaped and disposed to receive the rear end of a short outsole secured to a shoe to which the heel is to be attached. said groove approaching the at taching face of the heel as it extends in opposite directions from the median portion of the heel, the end portions of the groove terminating partly at said attaching face and partly at the sides of the heel.

4. A heel having in the upper end of its breast a sole receiving groove which extends transverse- 1y of the heel and is defined by upper and lower surfaces which are disposed angularly to each other and extend forwardly to the breast of the heeL the forward portions ofithe ends of the upper surface terminating at the attaching face of the heel, and the rear portions of the ends of the upper surface and the entire ends of the lower surface terminating at the sides respectively of the heel.

5. A heel having in the upper end of its breast a groove which has side walls extending approximately to the breast of the heel and is shaped and disposed to receivethe rear end of a short outsole secured to a shoe to which the heel is to be attached, the forward portions of the ends of the groove terminating at the attaching face of the heel and the rear portions of the ends of the groove terminating at the sides respectively of the heel.

6. A heel having in the upper end of its breast a sole receiving groove which extends transversely of the heel and is defined by upper and lower surfaces which are disposed angularly to each other and extend :to the breast of the heel, the rear portions of the ends of said upper surface and the entire ends of said lower surface terminating at the sides respectively of the heel, and the upper breast corners of the heel being chamfered and exposing the forward portions of the ends of said lower surface when the heel is viewed from above.

7. A heel having in the upper end of its breast a transversely extending groove comprising upper and lower walls which are disposed angularly to each other, the rear portions of the ends of said groove terminating at the sides of the heel and the forward portions of the ends of said groove terminating at the attaching face of the heel along lines extending forwardly and toward the median portion of the heel from points on the rim of the attaching face of the heel which are spaced substantial distances from the breast of the heel.

8. A heel having the rim of its attaching face arranged approximately in a plane and having in the upper end of its breast a sole receiving groove which extends transversely of the heel and has upper and lower cylindrical walls which are disposed angularly to each other, the elements of a theoretical cylindrical surface bisecting the angle between the walls of the groove being approximately parallel toithe plane of the rim of the attaching face of the heel, the rear portions of the ends of the groove terminating at the sides of the heel and the forward portions of the ends of the groove terminating at the attaching face of the heel.

9. A heel having in the upper end of its breast a sole receiving groove defined by upper and lower surfaces which are disposed angularly to each other and extend widthwise of the heel, the ends of said lower surfaces terminating at the sides respectively of the heel along lines extending upward and rearward from the breast of the heel, the forward portions of the ends of said upper surface terminating at the attaching face of the heel along lines extending forwardly and toward the median portion of the heel to the forward edge of the attaching face of the heel from points respectively on the rim of said attaching face which are spaced substantial distances from the breast of the heel, and the rear portions of the ends of said upper surface terminating at the sides respectively of the hee along lines extending from said points respectively to the first-named lines.

10. A shoe comprising an attached heel having in the upper end of its breast a sole receiving groove, side walls of which extend to the breast of the heel and ends of which terminate partly at the attaching face of the heel and partly at the sides of the heel, and a short outsole the rear portion of which fits in said groove and is forcibly held in the same.

11, A shoe comprising an attached heel havin in the upper end of its breast a groove which is of tapering width and has side walls terminating at the breast of the heel, the rear portions of the ends of the groove terminating at the sides respectively of the heel and the forward portions of the ends of the groove terminating at the attaching face of the heel, and a short outsole having beveled lateral margins, portions of said margins which are located immediately rearward of the heel breast line of the sole being held forcibly between the heel and the overlasted counter portion of the shoe upper and the remaining portion of the sole extending rearward of said heel breast line being arranged and for- 10 cibly held in the groove of the attached heel.

GEORGE HAZELTON. 

